Long slender objects such as fishing poles or rods and the like are difficult to store and care for, since they tend to be awkward and fragile and with a number of exposed features including eyes or fairleads, line leaders, and the reel for handling the fishing line. Fishing poles vary greatly in weight, which involves stiffness or flexibility, length and diameter. Regardless of the flexibility, it is desirable to store fishing poles or rods in a straight condition, supported at spaced intervals intermediate the opposite ends thereof; and it is to this objective that I have provided the pair of dissimilar and cooperatively adjustable supports of the present invention.
Fishing poles or rods are comprised generally of a handle or grip portion that extends from a butt to the reel seat, and the rod per se that extends from the reel seat to the tip of the pole. It is an object of this invention to provide an adjustable support for the larger diameter end of the pole at the reel seat, and it is also an object of this invention to provide an adjustable support for the smaller diameter end of the pole near the tip thereof. The first support at the reel seat can be applied to the pole ahead of or behind the reel seat as may be required, depending upon the diameter of the pole ahead of and behind this portion. And, the second support near the tip can be applied substantially behind or inward of said tip. Spacing of these two supports will vary as circumstances require, depending upon the size of the fishing pole or rod, and its heft.
The primary purpose of this invention is to provide means by which fishing poles are stowed and made secure against the sides of recreation vehicles or cabin walls, and like situations. For example, the trunk cabin of a sports vessel can be equipped with the two cooperative supports as they are hereinafter described, in order to securely store the poles or rods above the deck or floor and where they are safe and cannot be trampled.
Referring now to what I will term the rear support, it is the butt end or handle of the fishing pole or rod that is supported thereby. Fishing poles are of one of several standardized diameters at the reel seat, and accordingly the handle support of this invention is adjustable to this standard range of variation in handle or rod diameter at that portion. Likewise, fishing poles vary greatly in diameter at the tip portion, and accordingly the tip support of this invention is adjustable to an adequate range of variations in tip portion diameter. In practice, the handle portion support is characterized by an upwardly open U-shaped spring member with opposed detents for the releasable securement of the pole at the handle end, while the tip portion support is characterized by an upwardly open V-shaped (rigid) member having a rack with a pinion shifted by rotation into engagement with the various pole diameters for securement therof.
It is not uncommon for recreation vehicle bodies and cabins of sports vessels to have contoured exterior configurations, and to this end the two cooperative supports of the present invention swivel about vertical axes, in order to automatically align with the portion of the pole or rod engaged thereby; also to align with any deflection, curvature or warp that a pole may have or be subjected to. In practice, the two supports of the present invention are injection molded of plastic, and they are assembled of parts pinned and press-fitted together with or without solvents, as may be desired.